We have prepared former service offices that are no longer used as dormitories for them
Surabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - The former office of the Surabaya City Government Regional Organization (OPD) will be converted into a dormitory to accommodate children whose parents died of COVID-19, the city's mayor has said.

The city government is currently preparing and collecting data on children who will live in the dormitory, Mayor Eri Cahyadi informed in Surabaya on Tuesday.

"As of the latest, we have prepared a location for the children and are estimating (requirements that need to be met) to make things certain," he said.

He added that his administration will not make it mandatory for children orphaned by COVID-19 to reside at the dormitory, but it has offered them a choice to do so of their own volition.

Currently, the Surabaya city government has prepared former offices that are no longer in use to accommodate such children, Cahyadi informed.

"We have prepared former service offices that are no longer used as dormitories for them," he stated.

The mayor has assured that the rights of children whose parents have died of COVID-19 in the city of Surabaya will be upheld.

The municipal government is also guaranteeing their education up to the university level, he observed. These children are future leaders of the nation, so the city government will fight for their future, Cahyadi remarked.

Based on data from the Surabaya city government, in August 2021, COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded in 1,400 families. At least 600 of the families have been surveyed by the Surabaya Population Control, Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Service, while data on the rest is still being collected.

Acting head of DP5A Surabaya, Antik Sugiharti, assured that children orphaned due to COVID-19 will get proper education, healthcare, and have the right to be taken care of.

"They must have a family who can take care of, protect and look after (them). Otherwise, the city government will provide a place (dormitory) where the children can live," Sugiharti added.

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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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